Tom and Dorothy Cook Scholarships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine

Scholarship Information

Award value: AUD $38,500 annually

Level of study: Postgraduate

The original Cook family migrated from England to Australia in 1837. 75 years later Tom's father purchased land in Mackay and in 1915 built a family home, which is currently known as Greenmount Homestead. In 1950 Tom Cook wed Dorothy Drysdale, a successful businesswoman, owning and running a ladies' fashion and beauty shop in Brisbane. Tom and Dorothy settled at the Mackay residence, where they lived for most of their 31-year marriage. The passing of Tom and Dorothy in 1981 and 1995 respectively ended eighty years of the Cook family residing at Greenmount. In 1984, Dorothy gifted the homestead to the Mackay Regional Council. Dorothy left a final gift to the community of Mackay in the form of a research scholarship at James Cook University. These scholarships are offered to higher degree research students to undertake a Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy in the field of public health, laboratory and clinical investigation of population health in Tropical Northern Australia.